That’s when I’d see packs of dogs, drunks and night watchmen roaming the streets. I used to walk a lot on the streets of Istanbul in the night, especially in my youth because I used to write my novels until around 4am.
Why middle of the night?īecause the city is more poetic at night.
You once said you enjoy observing the city in the middle of the night to see humanity embedded in various disguises. So Mevlut’s story is also the story of Istanbul. Today, on the land that he built his illegal little shanty house some 40 years ago stands a high-rise of some 20 floors. , he singlehandedly builds his house and lives there with his family. My Mevlut comes to Instabul, like many people, as an immigrant in the late 1960s. To be able to write that novel, I interviewed several street vendors of Istanbul. But I’ve been living in Istanbul for the past 65 years that this city is getting modernised.Ī Strangeness… is the story of a street vendor Mevlut who has been selling things on the streets of Istanbul for 40 years. They would bring these things to our doorstep. In fact almost all foods – potatoes, tomatoes, corn, yoghurt, milk – were sold by street vendors. In my childhood, yogurt was not a bottled product.
I found A Strangeness in My Mind fascinating particularly because I enjoy reading about people and places…Ī Strangeness in My Mind is about the life of street vendors, especially street food sellers of Istanbul. ‘OK, Anand,’ he says, ‘ask me your questions.’ Pushing back a shock of salt and pepper hair that falls over his forehead, he is animated as he leans forward earnestly and smiles. The mention of the book title is enough to bring a sparkle to Orhan’s eyes. Mevlut picks up different jobs and over the course of decades, witnesses the city’s transformation. Chronicling the changes that occur in the bustling city over more than four decades, the novel spans more than 600 pages, telling the story of Mevlut, a food and beverage vendor in Istanbul, and the woman to whom he would write love letters, before marrying her, and their life in Istanbul. is more than just the tale of the life of street food vendors. Set in the Turkish city of Istanbul, A Strangeness. Common people and their experiences have figured in Orhan’s work A Strangeness in My Mind Image Credit: Shutterstock
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